Brake



M. LOUGHEAD 0R97 iheZaM/M.' v

pnl 22, 30

BRAKE Filed'June 14,' 192e 2 sheets-sheet 1 April 22, 1930. M LQUGHEAD 1,755,829

BRAKE Filed June 14. 192e 2 sheets-sheet 2 MMM/W177i c Patentedv 22,- l1930 y UNITED STATES 'PAT-ENT ori-ica COMPANY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA BRAKE Application led June 14,

My invention relates to brakes and more particularly to automobile brakes although, as will be seen, ,it is not necessarily restricted to that use. The primary object of my inven- 5' tion is to provide an automatic take-up mechanism for the brake-shoe (or brake-band)l which compensates for the wear of the brake lining or other element subject to wear, but slill preserves a constant slack for the brakes oe.

Another object' of myv invention is to provide a take-up mechanism which will permit recessionas well as progression of the brake applying member, so that the take-up mech` p anlsm does not unduly complicate the process of relining and renewing the brake-shoes.

Another object is to compensate 4for the progression ofthe brake-shoe applying memy' through the left front wheel of an automober so as -to utilize at all times the full movement of the brake pedal or other actuator. I accomplish the latter result by an extensible connection between the brake applying member and the actuator, which connection, in the preferred form of my invention, takes the orm of a liquid column which is extensible by means ofa replenishing device for the liquidcolumn.

The chief advantage of a take-up mechanism for the brakes is that it preserves the full effect of the possible movement ofthe brake pedal or other actuator, which, if excessive slack were allowed to develop, would be'consumed intaking up the excessive slack. In other words, if there is rio-excessive slack,

5 the full movement of the brake pedal may be utilized to increase the leverage, that is, increase the ratio between the pressure on the bralk shoe and the foot 'pressure on 'the pe a In the preferredform of m invention, I employl a ta e-up mechanism W ich embodies stop means between theA shoe or the brake applying member and-.a stationary point-as distinguished from merely lengthening (or contracting, as the case may be) the brake applying member. One of the cooperating stops is mounted so that it can progress on its support under a forceful application of the. brakes. Although anon-recessional take-up device such as a ratchet vis suitable for this 1926. serial No. 115,750.

purpose, it has-the 'disadvantage ofstep-bystep advance which is obviated by the frictional advance of my construction.

An important characteristic of the structure is that the retractile stop advances in one direction under excess braking application pressure and lthat it withstands the pressure of the brake shoe retractile springs in the other direction. These and other objects, features and advantages of my invention are set forth inthe following description of a particular andv preferred embodiment thereof, as illustrated-in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a diagrammatical layout of the fluid system of a hydraulic braking appara- .tus for automobiles embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section` bile embodying a braking system such as illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 1, Fig. 2 being considered as taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3 and looking rearwardly;

Fig. 3 is a verticall section taken alongthe plane of the wheel of Fig. 2 and looking inwardly;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail cross section of the end of the wheel brake cylinder of Fig. 3 and shows the take-up mechanismv itself;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the spider ring of the take-up mechanism of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a modified form of spider which v may be made of punched and drawn' metal;-

Fig. 7 illustrates the spider in a partially completed condition.

Fig. 8 is' a partial section of a wheel cylinder and brake shoe illustrating the modified form of spider'in position'.l

Referring first to the diagram of Fig. 1, the hydraulically actuated wheel brakes 10 on each of the road wheels of an automobile are inter-connected by high pressure hosev and tubing 11- with a master cylinder or com pressor 12, the piston 13 of which is actuated by the usual brake pedal-14 through suitable when foot pressure on the pedal 14 is relieved,

.return the liquid of the system vto the cylinder 12 and returns the piston 13 to its normal eachi The liquid enters the-cylinder at its mid-point position. Iffrom anyloss of liquid through the duid system, .there is insuicient liquid to return the piston'to its normal position, the

piston is returned ositively by a s rin 16 so that the cup paghi-ng V17 of the pistongunj covers a port 18 -in the cylmder wall lead' to af-vented liquid reservoir 19 from'whic liquid will ow into the cylinder until the' s'ystemis replenished to its necessary volume.

Referring next to Figs. 2 and 3 which show the `structure of typical wheel brakes 10 of Fig. 1, each wheel 20 carries a brake drum 21, while the steering spindle 22 (or in the case of the rear whee1'brakes,the rear axle housing) carries a'. non-rotatin supportingplate 23 which also acts as a ust late to close the open side ofthe drum 21. Y brake cylinder 24 is mounted on the outer side 'of the plate 23,that is, on vtheoutjer side as regards porting plate 23 diametrically opposite the 'e cylinder 24 by means of 'ns 29. The pins 29 are eccentric to provi e a sli ht adjustment ofthe fixed ends of the bra e-shoes as regards the distance of their linings from thedrum when the shoes are initially installed.

The brake-shoesl 28 are of channel crossseetion, theslinings 30. being secured along theirweb portions. The free ends ofthe opp osed shoes 28 .are urged vtogether by a. tenslon sprlng 31 and thelr lower ends by atension spring 32. l

The free lends of thel-shoes28 have op-A posed closures 33 acrossA their channels `and 'Y 'j .within theclosures 33 are rovided withhardened steelabutments int e form of hardenedsteel balls 34 set forcontactby the pis'- tonfrods -27.`

Liquid under 'pressure fromvthe tem of my braking aptparatus is, ously described, ed i 'brakes by high pressure 4tubing' 11, being nnll delivered through ilexiblehose 11 to rake cylinder 24, as shown in' Fig. 2.

between the opposed (pistons 26. To cut down the volume of li l emplo ed I employ a dixxplacement blodk 35 esitirondd axially 'of the c linder 24 atA its mi point by radial 36.v block 35 thus acts not only to displace aubsta'ntial volume of`l.iquid,vbutv also acts as a stop for the pistons which llocatesV themequidistant from the mid-point'of the the severals wheel 'c linder and also protects the edges' of the oating cu washers 37.

Each en of the cylinder 24 isvclosed by l cap 38 externally threaded thereon. The cap embodies a pair of spaced disc having a central opening throng which one of the piston rods 27 slides. A felt packing ortions 39,/

ring 40 is clamped between the disc portionsI 39 to excludedirt from the interior'of the cylinder. v

A washer 41 is carried within the cap 38 and abuts the end of the cylinder This 4 leaves a space between the washer 41 and the 4'end wall of the lcap 38. A spider ring 42 is disposed within this space and permitted to oat therein. The spider ring com prises a peripheral ring portion and a pluralit of spo warA ly therefrom. T ese lingers'are not joined to a hub 4at their, inner ends, but on the oontraryare left free, them acertain amount of spring. e 151g ner e es, but the plane of the ingers'isomewhat 'shed as shown in Fig. 4.| 'ilhe .inner ends o fthe lingers are, arcuately formed to constitute a non-continuous bore/which lits .very snugl onthe piston rod 27. On account .of the slig t dishing of the fingers, the piston rod 27 is morereadilyA slid outwardly than inwardly relatively to the spider ring,

When the spider ring 42 -is upon the piston rod 27 its tongues nd outwardly to an angle with the face o 'the metal, the size ofopening in the spider'A f ing such-that the an le maintained permits a movement of the ro 27 through t e spider in either direction, the amount of pressure required for moving in one direction, however, being much greater than in the other. The s ider ring 42'acts as a collar onv the piston 27, limit- 44,*that is, to a movement which equals the distance between the cap 38 and the washer 41 minus the thickness of the spidenring their position of maximum application.

7, and 8,- may be punched andform'ed I sheet metal.. The 45 isformed by turning'the" 'uter edge back .upon oneaface. AThe tongues 46 are firstl slit fromA a plate by means of a punch and die. These tongues are later formed to shape as illustrated in Figs. 6 and -8. Thev spider is preferablygiven. a spring hardening after its formingl operation so that the tongues ofthe spiderbear upon the shank 27 -with suicie'nt pressure to withstand the force of the brakeV retractile spring 31 even under road vibration.'

1 llet us suppose5for example, that the spider -rmg 42 issopositioned ven the piston rod 27 that when'v the brakes y applied the foot e like lingers 43 extendinginers 43 are cut with rather sharp.corners at their 1n-I ing the movementof the piston to the space no The Space 44...1'.ePB,Sntsthe slackallowed v v for, the r'etractonof the brake shoes from'- pedal pressure, the spider ring 42 is carried' vforwardly so it just contacts the cap 38.

Then,if the brake lining should thereafter wear a trifle thinner, say, for example, .005

bring the outer faceof' the spider vring 42 just into contact with the cap 38, the outer face of the lining would still be .005 of an inch out of maximum contact Vwith thedrum. As the foot pressure ,on the brake pedal continued to build up outward pressure on the piston rod 27, the pressure would soon exceed the pressure necessary to slide the rod outwardly relatively' to the lspider ring 42. This pressure would preferably correspond to about 15-poundspressure per square inch on the fluid system. Having thus. overbalf anced the friction of the spider ring on the rod, the latter would be moved outwardly .005 'inches relatively to the spider ring. When the foot pedal is again released, the piston rod, and hence the piston, would not come back to its former position, but instead to a position .005 of an'inch outwardl from its former position. Thus the range o movement permitted the piston, as represented by the distance 44 of Fig. 4, would be progressed outwardly .005 of an inch.

Similarly for further wearing down of the lining by infinitesimal degrees, the position ofthe piston 26 continually progresses out- Awardly until the lining is worn so far that it has to be renewed. It will be understood, of course, that after the initial setting of the brakes, as soon as the linings start to wear-the pistons will be carried permanently away from contact with the displacement block 35, so that the latter functions as a stop merely in initial setting of the brakes. I

If no means were employed for replenishing the fluid system, even though no losses were occasioned from leakage, `the automatic take-up mechanism just described would soon impair the effectiveness of the full possible `movement of the brake pedal because, as each piston is from time to time progressed. outwardly, an increasingly large volume of liquid must be taken from the system to compensate forthe increasing outward displacement-of the piston, and the volume of the fluid system as a wholeinereases vat eight times this rate because there are four wheel brakes and two pistons to each brake. The

' result would be that the driver would in time find the footv pedal going down to the floor board Without givingisubstantial braking effeet, However, with the use of an automatic replenishing device, such for example as that illustrated in Fi 1, the fluid system remains completely fille with a liquid at all times,

and this is true whether the replenishing is merely to compensate for actual fluid losses from the system or to compensate for enlarging of the volume of the system.' The important effect of this, or any other replenishing means, in the operation of a systeml employing anautomatic take-up mechanism of the general type I have shown, is that the, liquid ,-xolumn may also be extended.

Attentionv is also called to the fact that while the spider ring 42 is mounted on\th'e piston rod 27 to give an action equivalent to a ratcheting mechanism, recessional movement is not absolutely prevented.A Thus, uni der sullicient pressure the piston rod 27 can be moved inwardly relatively to the spider ring 4 2, but the pressure necessary to do this would be one which would correspond, in the fluid pressure on the piston, to some' 200. pounds. The return springs 31 between the free ends ofthe brake shoes would be entirely too weak to accomplish this recession. However, when the brake shoes are relined, it is not necessary to remove the cap 38 and withdraw the piston-s 24 in order to slide the spider ring toward the outer end of the pisvthat many changes maybe made therein without departing from the scope or sphere of my invention.

What I claimis: v

1 A-hydraulically actuated braking system for an automobile comprising in combination, a Wheel brake comprising a drum, a shoe, a shoe applying piston, and means for retracting the shoe, and a take-up mechanism having a stationary anchorage for limiting the retraction of the'pistomsaid mechanism ,I embodying a yielding slip connection permitting a progression of its retractile limit for v' the piston under heavy pressure on thepiston and permitting a recession of said limit under pressure greater than that of the retract'- ingmeans. v2. In a hydraulicbraking apparatus, .a

wheel cylinder, a brake shoe, piston mechanism for said cylinderoperatively connected with said shoe, a friction ring engaging said 'piston mechanism and adapted to be moved relative to said piston mechanism in either directionwhen a normal pressure 1s ap pl1ed thereto, and a pair of stops permitting a limited movement of said friction ring with said piston mechanism.

iusv

3. In a hydraulic braking system, a wheel l cylinder, a brake shoe, a Vbrake shoe lining, a brake drum, a pistoiistructure movable-1n e v7.Ina

Y hbrake drum, 'abrake shoe, a spring for retracting the brake shoe, brake shoe actuating means, a rod connecting the actuating means, with the brake shoe, a spider ring having radial inwardly extending tongues encompassing said rod and having its tongues n in frictional engagement with the rod, said tongues extending forwardly of the ring to rmit the longitudinal movement of the rod mone direction but to resist movement of the rod in the opposite ydirection under the force .zg of said 'sprin and a stationary stop member, one on eac side of said ring spaced apart -from-one'another, and spaced apart from the ring a distance :equivalent to the normal. movement of the brake shoe vin operation. n 5'. -In a hydraulic braking apparatus, a'

brake drum, a air of brake shoes, a spring for retracting t e brake shoes, a .brake shoe 'actuating means, rodsconnecting the actuating means with the brake shoes, spider rings having radial vinwardl extending tongues encompassinlsaid ro and havin their tongues' in 'ctionalengagement with the rods, said tongues extending forwardly of the rin sist movement of the rods 'in the opposite directionunder the force ofsaid ring, and a pair of stationary stop members' or each ring,

one on each side'of said rin spaced apart Y j from one another, and space apart from the rings a distance uivalent to the normal movement 'of the bra e shoesin operation. 6; In a hydraulic brake system, a brake element, a rod for actuating the brake element, a stop mechanism associated with the said rod comprlsing'an annular ring va plurality of iingers extending inwardly from the ring engagmg the rod, said fingers being bent outof 'necti'on permitting aprogression of the retractile limit of the brake element and permitting the recession of the retractile limit under a force reater than that exerted by the means for app ying a retracting force.

8. A mechanism for automatically taking up the slack in a braking system in which Wear members are provided, a pair of frictionally engaged members adapted to be moved relative to one another through the application of an abnormal braking force, a reltractile spring for the wear member, the force of said spring being slightly less than is necessary for moving said friction members lupon one another, one of said friction members having limited movement between stops whereby Athe wear member vwill Ihave the same limited movement between its normal position and its brake applying position.V

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 9th day of June, 1926.

' .MALCOLM LOUGHEAD.

to permit the longitudinal movee d ment o the lrods in one direction but to rethe plane of the ring to oiier a greater ricv tional resistance to movement inone direction along the rod than in the other-direction, and a stop member on each side of the ring spaced apart a distance equivalent to the normal movement of the rod.

h'draulic brake system, a brake element, a ro for applying the brake element, means for exerting a retracting force upon the brake element, a stop mechanism for limitingI the retractile movementof the brake element, i 6 5 said mechanism embodying a yielding con- 

